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Free Ride

February 26, 2013

“We gotta do better, it’s time to begin. You know all the answers must come from within…. Come on and take a free ride….”

From where I write, on the coast of California, I can look out and see dolphins swim gracefully through forests of ocean kelp. But I know that on the other side of the Pacific, it’s a very different scenario. Ric O’Barry is in Japan monitoring the dolphin hunt in Taiji, famously exposed in the movie “The Cove.” In picturesque Hatajiri Bay, the dolphins are being forced into a cove and trapped, then sold or slaughtered, in one of the worst drive-capture fisheries on the planet. Even though a horrified international public expressed outrage after seeing the brutality unleashed on these innocent sentient creatures in “The Cove,” the drive continues there and in other parts of Japan. In fact the capture and export of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) is exploding around the world, as is the display industry that uses them.

Ric tweets real-time updates:“Taiji: Update… 10 taken captive. Skiffs leave with pod family members and return empty, but take more… Still around 8 left fate unknown. Taiji: Bottlenose dolphin pod netted into cove, trainers reviewing for captivity, 15-20. Being pushed into shallows. #tweet4Dolphins 10:40 am 2013/02/05”

Millions of people pay to see these and other cetaceans at a marine park. They say they love these animals, but their money is what makes this practice profitable. The growing popularity of dolphin encounters, beluga interactions, and killer whales performing aerial acrobatics has fueled the market for trade in these wild species.

Even if the park has not obtained its animals from the wild, promoting this kind of entertainment stimulates sales and raises the value for cetaceans, often obtained through some form of drive fishery like the one each year in Taiji. Regardless of where they come from, their future in a marine park, “dolphinarium” or aquarium is grim. Life there bears little resemblance to the life they have evolved to live in the open ocean.

My renewed interest in this issue was sparked by a unique dive trip. Last October, I was invited to dive with my friend John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, in their Atlantic Coral Reef tank. I enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame feeding a hungry porcupine fish as kids waved and photographed me from the other side of the glass! After the tank dive, John and I jumped in the rehabilitation pool to swim with some of the recovering animals–a friendly Green Sea Turtle named Calypso missing a flipper (who loves back rubs), a shy Napoleon Wrasse needing time to acclimate, and a beautiful blind Zebra Shark that kept running into us.

Then, I met the dolphins.

Meeting Bailey at The National Aquarium

When I’ve encountered dolphins in the wild, they are very shy, very fast, and avoid human interaction; these bottlenose dolphins were different. Playful and social, they initiated a game of catch, throwing the ball at me repeatedly, and vocally complaining when I took a break. I adored them and felt that we had bonded over the couple hours of playtime. But this easy connection is why they are in so much demand. Dolphins and other cetaceans make great animals for entertainment. They can be trained to mimic human behaviors (dolphins and orcas do not wave to each other in the wild), and there is a feeling of an emotional bond between an animal and a human that is profound–even like love.

But just because it feels good, it doesn’t make it right.

This particular family of dolphins at the National Aquarium was born in captivity and probably would not be able to survive in the wild should they be released. They have participated in a number of illuminating scientific studies, including cognitive studies being conducted by Dr. Dianna Reiss, a professor of psychology, and director of the dolphin research program at the National Aquarium.Through various experiments, Dr. Reiss has found that the dolphins recognize their reflection in a mirror and even use it for self-directed behavior. This suggests that dolphins have a self-awareness that previously had been attributed only to humans and apes!

“These are highly complex mammals with complex social lives, complex cognitive lives. And we know enough now to know that they are highly intelligent.”–Dr. Reiss in an interview on NPR

What remains to be seen is how intelligent we will be in using this knowledge to make better decisions about their welfare.

John Racanelli is conflicted over keeping the dolphins at the National Aquarium, and we began a discussion about keeping dolphins and other cetaceans captive in general. A passionate ocean advocate, John has suspended the dolphin shows in exchange for a more interactive program where families can simply watch the dolphins in the amphitheater as they go about their day.“You really can’t make the dolphins do show after show after show. It’s stressful, and it’s not appropriate.” Now, visitors can learn about the dolphins’ natural behaviors, as well as how that species and whales live in nature. It seems to be a better experience for both the guests and the dolphins. Even so, he does not want to perpetuate the wild dolphin drives by encouraging the collection of cetaceans from the wild for any purpose, especially aquariums. John and his team are therefore considering what to do with their dolphins in the long term. He put it this way:“Any long-term needs should be driven by the welfare of the animal. We need to put them first.” Which may mean not having them at all at the aquarium.

A few weeks ago, I attended the screening of a new film, “Blackfish,” at the Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the film is about orcas in captivity and used for entertainment. It focused particularly on Tilikum, and what could have led to the death of his trainer Dawn Brancheau at Sea World in 2010. Watching the film, you witness Tilikum’s capture in the wild, his separation from his family and placement in solitary confinement, his repeated injuries from other orcas’ aggression, and food deprivation to force him to perform. It breaks your heart.

The killer whale Tilikum watches as SeaWorld Orlando trainers take a break during a training session. Photograph: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

If I had any internal debate about whether captive cetaceans provide a benefit to education and conservation that might outweigh their confined lifetimes, it vanished after I watched this film. I am very clear that in spite of their loving trainers, it is not OK to confine these majestic, intelligent, wild animals in tanks that are a micro-fraction of the size of their natural habitat for any reason other than short rehabilitation. Certainly not for a lifetime!

“I think the most amazing fact I learned was that they have a part of the brain that we don’t have—a part that we can’t even identify. This suggests that they sense, understand, and even feel more than we do. It still blows me away to think about it.”—Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Despite misleading claims by SeaWorld to the contrary, scientists tell us a whale’s lifespan in captivity is about half those in the wild. The dorsal fin collapse common among captive males orcas like Tillikum occurs in less than 1 percent of the wild population! Orcas continue to be bred in captivity, though there is a high mortality rate in orca calves. Those that survive are separated from their mothers at an early age to be shipped to other marine parks, though in the wild they bond for life, adding to the significant stress they already are under.

Orca mother and calf, Baja Photo Credit: Ralph Lee Hopkins/ iLCP

Scientists have learned a great deal from being able to study these animals in captivity, but perhaps the most important thing we’ve learned is that keeping them in these parks and aquariums is detrimental to their mental and physical health, shortens their life span, and often kills them.

As Naomi Rose, a senior scientist with Humane Society International, remarks, “Society has recast the image of these animals from ‘killer whales’ into ‘sea pandas’. We admire the orcas’ power and grace, yet we fail to see the irony of forcing them into straitjackets of concrete.”

One would think this vast body of evidence showing the negative consequences of keeping these animals in captivity would halt the practice. Instead, it’s growing.

“In 59 countries around the world, there are well over 2,000 dolphins held in unsuitably small tanks, a number of which have been captured from the wild from the now infamous Japanese coastal town of Taiji. There are currently seven countries that keep a total of 42 orcas (killer whales) in captivity – led by the U.S. which has 21. There are 161 beluga whales in captivity, 42 in Canada and 31 in the U.S. This figure increased temporarily by one last month (May) when a beluga calf was born at the Georgia Aquarium. It died five days after birth.”–Earth Race Conservation, June 2012

Currently under review by the NMFS (part of NOAA) is an application from the Georgia Aquarium to import 18 wild captured Beluga Whales from Russia for distribution to several marine parks in the U.S. This would be the first permitted importation of wild-caught cetaceans to the U.S. since 1993. This controversial application has had thousands of written objections. Dozens of scientists and activists spoke out against this wildlife trafficking during a public hearing. Our outdated laws and loopholes in the Marine Mammal Protection Act allow this to go on, in spite of what we know about the toll it takes on the whales.

The Georgia Aquarium insists it needs the animals for research and education, as well as for breeding. Their website claims: “..the belugas at Georgia Aquarium have become ambassadors for all marine mammals; increasing scientific knowledge and helping Aquarium staffers promote education and conservation messages on behalf of the species”. Opponents assert that this is no justification to inflict pain and suffering on these endangered sentient wild animals. According to The Dolphin Project, of the 71 Belugas that have been held in six aquariums (including the Georgia Aquarium), 34 have died. That is nearly half. And the captive breeding program has been a massive failure, with very few surviving offspring in the last five decades.

“I just want to make sure I got this right. The Georgia Aquarium has captured 18 beluga whales. They’ve got them in a holding pen. They want to put them in a truck, fly them over the ocean, and put them in their building in Georgia so they can teach the American public respect for nature.”–Ric O’Barry, NOAA hearing, October 2012

Unfortunately for cetaceans, the wildlife display industry is a very profitable business, earning millions of dollars annually for the parks. Visitors pay $169.95 for the “Beluga and Friends” experience at the Georgia Aquarium, and $215 for “Dolphin Interaction” or “Beluga Interaction” at Sea World San Diego. For that fee, you get just 20 minutes with the animals. The Shedd Aquarium’s “Beluga Proposal Experience” offers couples exclusive whale time “ complete with a private poolside moment that is perfect for popping the question” for $450!

At Sea World Orlando, where Tilikum is still living out his life, a show called “Shamu Rocks” entertains people with “more flash—and certainly more splash—than a rock concert… amazing killer whale behavior set to sizzling rock and roll music, along with dazzling lighting effects and breathtaking multimedia elements.”

Shamu Rocks Show, Sea World

What kind of natural behavior would a killer whale exhibit when surrounded by blasting music and flashing lights in a tiny chlorinated pool? Ironically, the show (which I watched with equal measure of horror and amazement on YouTube) opens with the 70’s hit “Free Ride”. For the audience, and especially the orcas, it’s anything but.

With millions of visitors buying tickets to these shows, clearly this is big business, but only if people continue to support these unnatural forced performances.

So, what are the alternatives? Aquariums and marine parks have a great educational and conservation benefit, but they can serve these important roles without capturing cetaceans and forcing them to perform circus tricks. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, New England Aquarium and the Aquarium of the Pacific, for example, offer boat trips to see these great animals in their natural habitat instead of in pools. Marine parks and aquariums can provide a greater service if they teach respect for nature through their own behavior, which would mean retiring these exploitive wild animal shows, and ending the capture or breeding of cetaceans into lifelong confinement.

Technology has allowed us to study cetaceans in the wild like never before through satellite tagging, acoustic monitoring, photo identification, and even “blow–sampling.” The University of Queensland, Georgetown University and the National Aquarium have now perfected getting DNA from a dolphin blow, instead of an invasive blood sample. This can be used in the wild for accurate genetic collection, negating the need for captive sampling. Dr. Ingrid Visser, known as“The Woman Who Swims with Killer Whales,” has spent over a decade studying wild Orcas in New Zealand by getting in the ocean with them. Her science is giving us valuable and applicable knowledge of how to protect these animals in the ocean. There are many researchers around the world who study cetaceans in the wild; it is not necessary to keep adding to the population of confined animals to serve the scientific community.

Even if we start phasing out these display programs now, it is estimated that we would still have cetaceans alive in captivity for several decades. Captive animals that cannot successfully be returned to the wild (and many cannot) should be retired to larger ocean pens; there they could live out their life in relative comfort and care.

I don’t believe that having these animals in captivity is a good way to educate the public about nature, or to inspire a pro-ocean ethic. There is nothing natural about orcas performing acrobatic tricks while accompanied by bright lights and loud rock and roll; to commercialize it this way sends the wrong message about respect and moral responsibility for protecting wilderness. People, especially children, can be more inspired through adventure and exploration than unnatural entertainment, and it will cost you–and the animals–a lot less. Take a trip on the Victoria Clipper out of Seattle to the San Juan Islands to see orcas in the real sea world, the ocean! Take a walk at Zuma beach in Malibu and you can see wild bottlenose dolphins and possibly even grey, humpback and blue whales! Let your children be splashed by an ocean wave, not the chlorinated pool water that imprisons Shamu.

These captive whales and dolphins did not choose to become the “ambassadors” of their species, but we can choose to be ambassadors of ours, by showing respect for these animals in the wild, and allowing them to be free.

Another tweet from Ric O’Barry comes in:“Taiji: Sadly 11 have been taken captive. 7-8 more were not selected and have not been seen in quite some time… Cove is now becoming red. Hearing the remaining dolphin family thrashing very very hard. Nothing can prepare you for this insanity, I am crushed. #tweet4Dolphins 10:55 am 2013/02/05”

Environmental philanthropist and ocean activist Shari Sant Plummer is President of Code Blue Charitable Foundation, Secretary/Trustee of the Summit Charitable Foundation, Board member of the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue, Vice President/Trustee of Seacology, Board Member of International League of Conservation Photographers, member of the Blue Ocean Film Festival Advisory Council, and member of the World Wildlife Fund’s National Council and Marine Leadership Committee.

A graduate of NYU and former Design Director at Ralph Lauren in NY, Shari is now an avid diver and ocean activist, traveling extensively throughout the world and promoting ocean conservation and environmental awareness.

Lead Photo (c) Ralph Lee Hopkins/iLCP

4 Comments

For dolphins, breathing is not a reflex, as it is for humans and other land mammals, but rather a voluntary movement. In other words, dolphins decide to breathe like we decide to walk. There is also a precaution taken in order to prevent the animal’s being drowned while sleeping in water. While sleeping, the dolphin uses the right and left hemisphere of his brain in turn, at approximately 15-minute intervals. While one cerebral hemisphere sleeps, the dolphin uses the other to come to the surface for air.

Dolphins breathe using their lungs just like other mammals, which means they cannot breathe in the water like fish. For this reason, they routinely come up to the water’s surface to breathe. On the top of their heads is a hole enabling them to do just that. The bodies of dolphins have such a perfect design that, when it dives into the water, this hole is automatically closed by a cap, thus preventing water from leaking into the dolphin’s body. When the animal comes up to the water’s surface, the cap then reopens.

The snout of the dolphin’s beak is another design facilitating the movements of the animal through water. By means of this structure, the animal uses less energy in cutting through the water and swimming at higher speeds. Modern ships, too, make use of a bow like the dolphin’s snout, hydrodynamically designed to increase the speed of ships just like dolphins.

In addition, dolphins can swim at such great speeds that they dazzle scientists. There is a smooth flow of water around the bodies of dolphins. Research carried out on the skin of dolphins has discovered the reason for this flow. The skin of a dolphin consists of three layers. The outer layer is thin and very elastic. The middle layer is mostly composed of connective tissue and it has appendages looking like a plastic brush which anchor the outer layer to the middle layer. The third, inner, layer consists of bundles of elastic fibers. Therefore, when turbulence begins to form in the water around the speedily swimming dolphin, the outer skin transmits the extreme pressure caused by this turbulence to the inner layers and they absorb it. Thus, the turbulence that was beginning to develop disappears before it was able to grow.

All of these structures, ones exclusive only to dolphins among all other animals, are clear evidence of an intelligent design. Allah has created dolphins, like all other creatures, with their body structures in conformity with their surroundings.

[…] 20 It really is time to STOP attending events and giving financial support to parks that keep cetaceans captive. Read this article – we must care, we must vote with our dollars, and we must stop these practices – Free Ride | Mission Blue […]